Let's Talk BBQ
FORUM SPONSORS => Pit Barrel Cooker Co. => Topic started by: mikeharold on June 10, 2016, 09:55:01 AM
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Hey guys,
Long time BBQer, but mostly on my open pit Santa Maria style BBQ and a crappy smoker that has turned out some pretty good food. Came upon the PBC by accident at a time I was starting to think about getting a decent smoker and had to have one! Got it a couple weeks ago and have done a few cooks on it and the food has been great, but am struggling with a couple of things.
So the first issue was temp. I used Kingsford original and followed everything to a T. Only had my cheap probe thermometer at the time but it was showing the temp dropping like a rock and I had to fiddle with the lid to get the temp right and finally it held. OK, maybe something I did wrong in the lighting process. Chicken came out good by the way!
Second cook was a couple racks of St. Louis ribs. Same issue. Kept battling the temp. Pulled one of the rebars and it ran perfect. Ribs came our fantastic!
I actuallt talked to Amber at PBC and she said I may have gotten a bad batch of KBB and to try another bag as I was doing everything else just right and that was her hunch. OK, if she says so I said to myself, not sure that's it but will give it a shot.
So last night I did Huli Huli chicken. That ones a keeper by the way! I picked up a bag of Stubbs to try. Fired it up, threw my new Maveric therm in and it was running perfect! Guess the know what tey'e talking about over there at PBC after all! Hung the chicken and let it go. Here's the issue. The chicken just would not get over 140 forever. Pit was running right around 270 the whole time. Took a little over 3 hours to finish one chicken. WTH?! It came out great but why the stall and 3 hour cook?
Loving the PBC though and once I get these couple of things squared It will be serious go time! Lets here your thoughts and insight to see what you think. Thanks and look forward to sharing and learning as I go.
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Welcome!! Best PBC site on the net
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If you hit a stall like that, you could potentially crack the lid a bit to crank up the temp to get it past. I haven't had a chicken stall before
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Are you using the lighter fluid method or chimney method to start your coals?
Welcome to the forum BTW
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If you hit a stall like that, you could potentially crack the lid a bit to crank up the temp to get it past. I haven't had a chicken stall before
Funny thing is that I had been opening the lid and the temp was hovering around 300 for a lot of the stall. Thinking it was maybe just a weird fluke. At least I'm hoping.....
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Are you using the lighter fluid method or chimney method to start your coals?
Welcome to the forum BTW
Chimney method. Thanks for the welcome.
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I finally settled on coals fully lit and one rebar out and vent pretty wide open to maintain temps better than 300F.At that a couple times per cook I open top and take a peak and let coals get back up to temp as it slowly slides down.
Seems a common theme here is you have to make it your own,few of us get set it and forget it cooks.But Im happy,3-4 checks per cook,cant beat it.
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Might be a silly question, but is your therm calibrated?
I too have never had a problem with chicken. Hour to hour and half @ 300 to get to 160 on the breast.
Love chicken on the PBC!
Welcome to the forum. Lots of great info here.
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Might be a silly question, but is your therm calibrated?
I too have never had a problem with chicken. Hour to hour and half @ 300 to get to 160 on the breast.
Love chicken on the PBC!
Welcome to the forum. Lots of great info here.
You know, I haven't calibrated it, but I checked both halves and confirmed with a probe thermometer as well to see. Chicken came out perfect once it finished off and was far from overdone. Pulled it at 162 in the breast.
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Welcome from SE Georgia! Happy PBC owner here!
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Every once in a great while I get a bag of Kingsford that doesn't burn right..............
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Welcome!
While I think the PBC is a set it and forget it cooker, it took me a little while to get used to it based on how I lit it, and the weather (wind). After about 10 cooks things have been very consistent and I've loved the results. Mind you I had never used a smoker/cooker (only a grill), so I'm sure that had a play in it as well.
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Welcome from Minnesota
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Are you using the lighter fluid method or chimney method to start your coals?
Welcome to the forum BTW
Chimney method. Thanks for the welcome.
The chimney method is tough to get right. You need to allow time for the PBC drum to warm up before placing the lid. Give the coals more time to get established before placing the food in and lid on. Make sure the drum is hot. The hot air helps with drafting.
The lighter fluid method eliminates this problem because the coals are lit while in the drum and get the PBC drum metal very hot and IMHO makes a difference.
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Welcome from Wisconsin! :)
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Welcome Mike....I have had mine a little over a year now. The more I use it the more I love it. Everything is so easy on it and turns out some great bbq.
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Going to do some St Louis ribs and wings this evening and will report back. Going to use Stubbs again as I have a half bag left and that seemed to burn and work better than the Kingsford heat wise. Thinking I just had a strange chicken last go with the stall.
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The important part is the lighting process. When venturing into a long cook, it is important to not let the coals get too hot before adding the meat. We are looking for coals that will be burning slowly from the top to the bottom for ideal results. Some people tend to let their coals ash over before starting a long cook and their temps will plummet because they burned too hot at the beginning and become exhausted during the cook.
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So I think I figured out my issue with the temps. All I had for a chimney was a full size one and couldn't find any of the small ones locally. I think my coals were getting too hot due to the larger surface area with the large starter. Ordered a small starter and the temps are damn near perfect and consistent every time now! The thought hadn't crossed my mind originally but once I thought about it it made perfect sense. Goes along with what Noah and Amber were saying, if the starter coals get too hot and ash over they loose their energy and are hot to start but fade fast. Another lesson learned!
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Sounds like you're cookin' now! :)
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